Two papers led by scientific teams from the Cancer Genetics Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) shed new light on the genetic mechanisms underlying cellular energy and metabolism and, at the same time, highlight both the challenges and opportunities of genetic approaches to cancer treatment. Appearing in the September 2012 issues of The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) and Nature Medicine, the new findings reveal surprising insights into how PML regulates metabolism via the fatty acid oxidation (FAO) pathway and, in the process, uncover paradoxical roles for this tumor suppressor gene.